Personal Leadership Development Plan - Coursework Example

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN (PLDP)-ACTION PLAN (AP) TEMPLATE PLDP A PLDP is done to cause deep reflection, writing, and re-evaluation. There are very few times in our busy lives when we take the opportunity to stop what we are doing to truly reflect. Not only does reflection increase our awareness of our personal strengths, weaknesses, values, preferences, and styles but it helps us understand how our behaviors, actions and decisions impact our relationships with others. This is all a part of Adult Learning and our thirst to continually learn about ourselves and how weaffect those around us. REQUIREMENTS: Each module entry must follow this format and the different tables should be filled in for each module. Note: Only the white space areas will need to be filled in on this template. You must upload this document each time a module PLDP is due, your final product will also have your completed Action Plan filled in. Refer to the student guides located under each Module to help you complete each PLDP entry. For each part where you will either answer a question or discuss your strengths or areas of improvement, unless otherwise specified a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 350 words are required. MODULE 2 “Self Awareness” REFLECTION: For this module 100 to 350 words are required for each lesson concept (e.g. 100-350 words for each assessment of Personal Profile System (PPS), Team Building, Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation (KAI), etc…under Part I & Part II). Take a few moments to think about your experiences in the Self Awareness module and review your assessments.Self-awareness is important because when SELs have a better understanding of themselves, they are effective at managing and leading through change. As you complete the PLDP entry for this module, focus on building on your areas of strength as well as identifyareas where you would like to make improvements. PART I: STRENGTHS: Think about the things you do well in each of the below areas.If you have a low opinion of yourself, you may struggle with these at first, but we all have areas in each category that contribute to organizational and personal value. For those individuals that are very confident, it may be hard to just choose two, but there are things that will be your strongest asset in each assessed area. Even the most humble of people will understand their strengths and utilize them for everyone’s advantage. Review the Self-Awareness Module core lessons (PPS, Team Building, KAI, Full Range Leadership Development (FRLD), and Critical Thinking) and your assessment instruments, then focus on at least twotraits that you do well in each of the below lessons and explain WHY each item is strong: PPS:I am a High D (Dominance) and then a C (Conscientiousness). My classical pattern is Creative. In general, based on both of these two traits, I tend to see the world and its circumstances as inherently unreliable and in need of a great deal of focus and self-discipline in order to be mastered. This is the way my gut works, and I believe that this is a valid disposition for an airman to have. After all, the margin for error must constantly be kept at bay. I am high in the Dominance trait in that I feel it to be of utmost important that I tend to the task at hand immediately and make sure its done effectively and to the T, so to speak. If the task at hand is more important than, well, tasks of secondary importance, then all of my mental energy will go into getting it done correctly and immediately, and I want everyone else on my team to be effectively cooperating with that primary task. Get er done. I am also high in Conscientiousness for reasons, as far as I can see in myself which overlap with my D. Why? To get the task done. Being high in D perhaps might be a bad trait if taken at face value, because followers dont like bossy leaders. However by being high in C you retain a crucial respect and faith in the wisdom from without. You realize that, to use an analogy, you can do math better by following prescribed methods than you can by winging it in your head. That is, I realize that I can always be more precise in the ways in which I implement tried and tested methods that are the results of tireless efforts of very experienced people. Team Dimensions (TD):I am principally classified as an Advancer because of the Z process. I feel this is a valuable asset in that it is a common and tragic incident when a great idea blossoms but stalls before it can even be executed. Thats why its important to have people who enthusiastically delegate the initial idea from the Creator to even the far corners of the group and make sure it gets done hastily while also preventing second-guessing. The Advancer gets peoples blood pumping, and is good at gauging other peoples enthusiasm and helping to corral it productively. What truly highlights the applicability to the Advancer designation is the way I behave in the Z process, in engaging the Refiners, who somewhat play devils advocate to my enthusiasm. In essence, my strength in this category is in communication, and in getting the job done. This overlaps with my Dominance trait in the PPS. Perhaps second to being an Advancer, I also exhibit strong attributes of the role of the Creator. I would call myself mainly a Creator, but the fact is that, unless the group Im working in only has two members, Im usually a minority and thus shouldnt expect to be the one who comes up with a great plan quickly every time. That said, however, I am a dynamic thinker and am a big-picture thinker who has the capacity to view a problem without getting tied up in any details, which results in thinking out of the box. For me, the minutia of how to execute a plan comes after. KAI:With regards to the KAI, I have a strong affinity for Adaptation. In fact, I would place myself in the third standard deviation, as a Strong Adaptor. That is how my mind works, although Ive always made an effort to cultivate Innovation abilities, which are of invaluable use for when Im in a scenario where I naturally fall into leadership duties. But yes, anyway, I naturally look to follow in the well-trodden footsteps of others, recognizing that, no matter how clever I am, there is a certain deeper cleverness, most of the time at least, in using a method with proven results. However, it is always my discretion at the helm, parsing ideas and establishing for me what is best. Sometimes I see a reason why I really ought to innovate, but this is rarely the case. Usually I only seek a new course in the event of repeated failure through old methods. However, by being an Adaptor I quite often succeed, within reason, because of my seamless ability to adapt basic principles and strategies to a wide variety of situations, and my ability to introduce authentic practical knowledge of strategy implementation. I aspire to something akin to a versatile concert pianist, to use a metaphor. Building on this recognition of myself as an Adaptor I also believe I possess the asset of exhibiting superb Coping behavior in that I have the psychological endurance and fortitude necessary to assume the mental state of an Innovator if the situation calls for it. Now too much endurance is required, as in a sense I am still in Adaptor mode when I fill this need for innovation. Yes, it is contrived and somewhat mentally taxing, but Ive spent my entire life playing the Innovator when needed, and well, Ive gotten this far. On the same token, although I wax confident on my ability to cope, I do not mean to imply that I am fundamentally good at it Innovation. I dont have that genius spark. After all, if I were good at it, it wouldnt be a coping behavior in the first place. I simply mean to say that Im willing to do it. That brings me to my closing note on the topic: I know what my limits of coping are, and realize that it would be unproductive to rely on coping mechanisms unless absolutely necessary. Therefore I strive to keep myself in the position of being an Adaptor, exploiting my natural talents as much as possible, except for short bursts when I must be an innovator. FRLD:I excel in Contingent dimension of Transactional leadership and the Individual dimension of Transformational leadership, with self-assessed scores of 4.715 and 4.77 respectively. According to the Style Theory, I employ relationship-oriented leadership, at least as my flagship characteristic, and then for me the production-oriented leadership comes after the fact, so to speak. This gel with the Transformational-Individual trait I exhibit, in that I stir up activity and followership by inspiring and motivating followers by cultivating and maintaining my leadership on an individual level. That is, its not that Im leading a group; rather, Im leading a collection of individuals who I have personal commitments to, and vice versa. As far as Transactional leadership goes, I employ the conditional variety in that I generally have expectations to be met, which I model on the requirements of the job at hand and what I gauge to be the competence and commitment level of those who are acting as the followers in the given situation. This fits with my Dominant personality trait, and what I think to be my preternatural affinity for the Path-Goal theory, in that I want to get the job done, expects everyone else to be on board for getting the job done, and cook up in my head a formula for doing so. In tough situations, youve got to use most of your brainpower to actually think of the idea, so youre saving a lot of thought by just thinking of basic commitment rewards to give people, be those smiles or some other nod of approval or positive reinforcement. Being a leader is a privilege, and intrinsic motivation should usually be assumed, so I always employ positive reinforcement unless they truly have zero commitment. Critical Thinking:As far as characteristics that embody a proficient critical thinker goes, I am open minded and skeptical, that is, I have a penchant for recognizing basic human limitations, particularly those which I possess. I am fundamentally skeptical of everything I learn, including those things which I perceive first-hand. I always maintain what I think to be a healthy amount of self-doubt, even with regards to my memories. Not to imply that I have a bad memory, per se, but I am aware that everyone misremembers things from time to time and that it is a perennial source of personal failure and conflict with others. As far as my skepticism goes, I am always scrutinizing facts and theories. Indeed, I am very much aware that no (scientific, for instance) theory is ever 100% proven, and that all my knowledge about the world is essential a theory of the same form. Everything is subject to disconfirmation, and it should always be treated as such so long as there is no pressing urgency to pick one theory and run with it lest everything fall apart. Additionally, I possess the intellectual trait of Autonomy, which is an asset in many occasions in that I can continue functioning effectively in the absence of explicit directions. In this regard, I have a unique flexibility and robustness. More specific to the criteria outlined, I always maintain a stiff grip on the stewardship of my beliefs, values, and interests. That is, I think about thinking, so to speak, and can exercise paradigm piracy in the world, and re-program myself (at least superficially) when the situation calls for it. Ultimately for me, thinking is not a passive ride. I am always aware. PART II: AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: There is difficulty to see in yourself what others may see so easily. This is what makes the path to self-awareness so challenging.Acknowledging the need to become better at anything is only the beginning, and its often the most difficult step in the whole process. In many cases, individuals successfully come to the realization that somethings not working, but only when they truly reflect. Review the Self-Awareness Module core lessons (PPS, Team Building, KAI, FRLD, and Critical Thinking) and your assessment instruments, then focus on at least twotraits that you need to improve upon in each of the below lessons and explain WHY each item needs improvement: PPS:My main deficits come in the forms of the (absent, or at least diminished) behavioral tendencies of Influence and Steadiness. My diminished dimension of Influence is readily obvious to me. Im always preoccupied with getting the job done, to a sometimes monomaniacal degree and often to the exclusion of playing to the crowd, so to speak. By doing this, I often fail to build rapport with groups on a subconscious level (although I do compensate on a conscious, deliberate level). This is a quality I wish I didnt possess, as it is often, in a roundabout fashion, beneficial to go with the crowd even if on the surface it looks like theyre being lazy. Ultimately, while I do place a great deal of emphasis on personal relations, I can miss the bigger picture of subtleties of group dynamics In terms of Steadiness, I am also in a weakened position, something I must always work to compensate for. While it can be good to quickly jump ship and adopt a different approach or mentality, the fact is that stability is the real virtue, and its antithesis, being flighty, presents many practical, real-world ramifications. My loyalty to the ultimate goal is often betrayed by rash decisions about how to get there. That is, Ill never quit the goal, but can find my perspective altered prematurely. TD:By method of exclusion, we can see that my weakest performances are in the respective roles of Refiner and Executor. A Refiner is a lot like a Creator, only democratic. For me, Im generally all-on or all-off. For me, if I act the part of the Refiner it will be a slippery slope into me vying for the role of the Creator. (That is, unless I categorically agree with the plan devised by the Creator, and respect his general personality.) This is a personal characteristic that Im not terribly proud of, and must always be vigilant for when team work is essential. I am likewise a relatively weak Executor, for similar reasons outlined above. Simply put, Im not a detail-oriented individual. Say I relinquish all share in the overarching creative vision and choose to confine myself to the detail-work delegated to me. Even then, the way I execute my detailed little portion of the project will often diverge and come to fit into my own vision. The one thing that stood out to me in this module, fitting with my two listed weaknesses, though it isnt exactly discussed as a discrete trait itself, is time management. This is something Ive always struggled with. Im such a big-picture thinker that, when I do have to apply myself to a strictly detail-oriented task, I will quickly lose all sense of time (unless time is one of the primary parameters of the goal at hand). KAI:In my Part I, I found myself rife with inner observations while answering for this topic, and so feel that I probably already answered Part II for this indirectly. Anyway, I feel that I have a weakness in my Innovative capacities. That is, Im bad at thinking uniquely (although I know how to compensate). However, on that note, I should also mention that I can sometimes have difficulty, at least I waste a great deal of thought-time, judging how much I must deviate from the tried-and-true. As such, even if its accepted that Im an Adaptor, I lack the basic Innovator skill of following a new course in the evolution of a methodology, often relapsing to the old way, which belies a serious flaw in my fundamental style of reasoning. On the same token, I often inadvertently sacrifice group cohesion by having to “re-adapt” at every turn of a project. Although it more or less falls into the same KAI dichotomy, it is perhaps worth its weight as a separate topic, and that second topic is the ability to effectively revitalize current systems for tomorrow. While one might naively think that an Adaptor would be good at this, the fact is that its a delicate balance of tapping into the current system and innovating, something that the quintessential Adaptor, as I am, has difficulty doing. For me, its either the old (oops, I mean current) system, or its a radically new system altogether. Its like, I can either do it my way or I can fake it. If my way is decidedly the established way, then fine, but if theres a problem with the current system, I cant help but mentally seek out a revolutionary change. FRLD: I am deficit in the Management dimension of Transactional leadership, as well as the Idealized dimension of Transformational leadership. My problem when it comes to the Idealized trait is that Ive never, as far as I can tell, placed a great deal of thought or emphasis on how Ive cultivated my moral self-image. Yes, I do put thought into being moral, but its not due to some self-aware yearning towards a higher self (which is indeed what determines who is an effective transformational leader—one who has clearly works on his or her self and bears all the signs of having done so—someone who has figured out how to master their weaknesses and wears those stripes). That is, Im not a terribly excellent example on those qualities which ought to serve as a model for others to follow. Yes, I feel Im loyal, and I try to be respectful, and I care to an extent about the welfare of others, but Ive just never (felt the need to?) try too hard to cultivate such qualities in myself, and I feel that it shows. My other (obvious, to me at least) deficit is my ability to effectively (actively!) Manage by Exception. This is apparent to me for the same reasons that my aforementioned inability to effectively manage time. Simply put, I get distracted by a certain few particulars to the exclusion of all the particulars as they act in concert. For an example, if Im managing a big group—or even a small group—of people, I can easily find myself getting caught up with disciplining a small few and rewarding a small few, forgetting about the overall fluctuations that ought to be tended to. In that sense, I feel I can unwittingly be unfair, not due to some ethical bias, per se, but due to a bias in where my attention wanders off to. Critical Thinking:I have a parsimonious grace of a scientist. However, thats not all there is to critical thinking. I have a great deal of respect and genuine curiosity for the ideas of others, because I scrutinize my own fallible mind, but at the end of the day I succumb to Intellectual Cowardice quite often, only I call it “optimism”. While this can motivate a great deal of intellectual industriousness when it comes to problem solving, it can be a fatal bias in certain situations, when you think you can win everything and thus forgo the wise course of action—damage control—and instead ultimately end up playing for broke just because you assume from the outset that the problem is, as youve ideally stated it, is soluble. As with ancient Greek moral theory, the guiding principle behind all virtuous behavior is balance, and any imbalance is fundamentally the antithesis of virtue. That brings me to the deficit of distrusting reason and evidence. As I mentioned in Part 1, I have a “healthy” amount of self-doubt and scrutinize everything. While this is a rare and valuable asset, if I falter even slightly in my own determinations with this, I can fall into the trap of doubting even that which is very worthy of accepting as true on even a contingent basis. After all, in dire situations, there is perhaps less room for doubt than there is even for error. To be able to make hair-line, pragmatic decisions based on imperfect or incomplete evidence is just as important to critical thinking as it is to arrive at truth. After all, there are always shades of truth (at least in the imperfect human mind). This, somewhat in line with my mention of time management, and so on, accounts for something I really need to refine in myself before I can be even a moderately competent leader. MODULE 3“Deliberate Leadership” REFLECTION Take a few minutes to think about your experiences in the Deliberate Leadership Development Module.  Think about how you appraise yourself and others, establish deliberate leadership paths and/or career goals by using desires and the needs of the Air Force.  As you complete the PLDP entry for this module, focus on building on your areas of strength as well as identify areas where you would like to make improvements. PART I: DELIBERATE LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS (Choose TWO of the following to answer). *Remember 100 to350 words for each question you choose to answer. 1. How do you promote a culture where personnel are capable of adapting to evolving military requirements throughout their career? As a SNCO, it is one of my responsibilities to promote a culture where Airmen are capable of adapting to evolving military requirements. I feel that personnel must have opportunities to develop operational adaptability through critical thinking, willingness to accept prudent risk, open-mindedness and the ability to make rapid adjustments based on a continuous assessment of the situation. They must be comfortable with ambiguity and quickly adapt to the dynamics of evolving operations over short and extended durations. I must be adept at framing complex, ill-defined problems through design and make effective decisions with less than perfect information for preparing my personnel with things they may be faced with while trying to adapt to the constant evolving military requirements.I must use a leadership style that will inspire personnel to think independently, and act decisively, morally, and ethically. I say this because current and future environments will place increased responsibility on Airmen forcing them to do more with less and causing them to make decisions with strategic, operational, and tactical implications. Actually, “the do more with less” concept has already begun. The Air Force culture today requires career development such as formal training, and informal training just to name a few throughout their careers. And in turn, Airmen require a foundation of Core Values, the Warrior Ethos, and institutional competencies in order to understand the direction the military is going in. I must ensure that Airmen know how important it is to instill this foundation and why. I feel that learning is best achieved at the point of need and therefore is accessible in a career long learning continuum. This is how I promote such a culture. 2. How do you encourage others to pursue opportunities to serve in special duties or to retrain to balance the force and enable our military to meet mission concepts? 3. How do you guide others in establishing their long-term career goals based upon their desires and the needs of the military through Full Range Leadership techniques? 4. From your perspective, why are people leaving the military (your career field)? How do you balance the needs of the Air Force with a member’s personal needs? The people in the Supply AFSC are leaving the military for various reasons such as PT failures, failure to complete Course 14, and adapting to the new changes that the Air Force is implementing. The most common reason was due to new leadership taking over the organization. I would consider the new CEM to possess the skills of a toxic leader. He is really good at what he does but he puts others down for not achieving certain goals as a SNCO and is very arrogant. No one wants to be in that type of organization. He made that environment unfavorable for most of the SNCOs that were a part of his team along with the airman as well. The majority of the SNCOs have purposely volunteered to deploy because of his leadership style. On the other hand, I do feel that those SNCOs weren’t given the proper leadership tools to be successful and deliberate leadership wasn’t introduced to them early on during their career forcing all seven SNCOs to push the retirement button. The Air Force is looking for strong SNCOs that are going to be highly effective leaders with the criteria to match such, as PME, CCAF, Course 14 and being physically fit. If you don’t meet that mark; then hey you have to go. The new CEM decided he needed to clean shop and look at records and decided that none of these SNCOs had any of the basic requirements and possessed any of those traits to be sitting in a leadership position. When you don’t make the cut your EPRs will reflect. He truly called them out on where they stood. They all got 4 ratings on their EPRs. He stated the Air Force doesn’t have room for slackers, only for airmen who want to make a difference in their career, their organization, and the Air Force. PART II: STRENGTHS Based on the Deliberate Leadership Development module you will need to review the following core lesson Student Guides: Profession of Arms (POA)andFRLD to find at least two items that you do well. Then explain why you do these well and give examples: I feel that I possess the qualities of a great transformational leader. First, because I am able to adapt my leadership style to the different personalities, needs, and skills of my work environment. Secondly, I foster innovation by challenging assumption about what can and cannot be done. Third, I motivate personnel by guiding then in the direction I want them to go by setting a vision, strategy, and goals. And lastly, because I am a positive role model. The most important thing is that I have a strong bond with my followers. Ex: I set a goal for myself to get a minimum of ten people to enroll in college classes and surpassed my set goal with a an astonishing 15 people. I did this by finding out what classes they needed and help some of them throughout the whole process beginning with the education center and ending where they could find cheap Course materials, books, online to achieve their educational needs. I was able to accomplish that goal in six months. As a Transformational leader, I have discovered that I am very good at developing others to the right side of the continuum. I am a High D and I like to get things done to accomplish the missioneffectively and logically. I am motivated to stay on track and as a SNCO that’s what I like to pass on to my subordinates and my peers as well. It’s a great feeling knowing that people look up to you as a role model and would like to have a positive effect on the organization as well. As you develop others, you are able to alleviate all distractors that could potentially affect the attitude of the people you are developing. From experience, you are able to guide people in a positive direction where they feel good about themselves and what they do to contribute to the mission as well. You have to care about the people you are developing and motivate them to do their best to achieve their goals. As a developer, the person can only take away what you put in. So you want to provide the right tools, adhere to the standards, while maintaining professionalism and pass on a contagious positive attitude that is sure to help that person advance in his or her career. I would be able to apply the same example above because I was able to help others get started on their educational goals to better themselves personally and professionally. PART III: AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT Based on the Deliberate Leadership Development module you will need to review the following core lesson Student Guides: POA and FRLD to find at least two items that you need to improve upon. Then explain why you need to improve this area and give examples:I feel that my areas for improvement did not change for FRLD that I stated in Module 2. I am deficit in the Management dimension of Transactional leadership, as well as the Idealized dimension of Transformational leadership. My problem when it comes to the Idealized trait is that Ive never, as far as I can tell, placed a great deal of thought or emphasis on how Ive cultivated my moral self-image. Yes, I do put thought into being moral, but its not due to some self-aware yearning towards a higher self (which is indeed what determines who is an effective transformational leader—one who has clearly works on his or her self and bears all the signs of having done so—someone who has figured out how to master their weaknesses and wears those stripes). That is, Im not a terribly excellent example on those qualities which ought to serve as a model for others to follow. Yes, I feel Im loyal, and I try to be respectful, and I care to an extent about the welfare of others, but Ive just never (felt the need to?) try too hard to cultivate such qualities in myself, and I feel that it shows. My other (obvious, to me at least) deficit is my ability to effectively (actively!) Manage by Exception. This is apparent to me for the same reasons that my aforementioned inability to effectively manage time. Simply put, I get distracted by a certain few particulars to the exclusion of all the particulars as they act in concert. For an example, if Im managing a big group—or even a small group—of people, I can easily find myself getting caught up with disciplining a small few and rewarding a small few, forgetting about the overall fluctuations that ought to be tended to. In that sense, I feel I can unwittingly be unfair, not due to some ethical bias, per se, but due to a bias in where my attention wanders off to. MODULE 4“Visionary Leadership” REFLECTION Take a few moments to think about your experiences during the Visionary Leader module.  Consider your efforts in building effective teams, articulating a shared vision, and leveraging diversity. As you complete the PLDP entry for this module, focus on building on your areas of strength as well as identify areas where you would like to make improvements. PART I: VISIONARY LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS (Choose THREE of the following to answer). *Remember 100 to350 words for each question you choose to answer. 1.Using FRLD concepts (MBE-P, MBE-A, Contingent Reward, 4I’s), describe the differences between that of yourself and your mentor (who you would most like to emulate). How do these differences align with the type of leader you aspire to be? What changes need to occur?My mentor and I are not fundamentally different people. Actually, our similarities are one of the primary motivators I had in choosing him to be my mentor. We both dominantly exhibit MBE-A behavior. This leadership behavior is practiced by leaders who keep people and the process in control using a very active and hands on approach to management and performance standards. However, my inclination to advancing ideas as opposed to creating new ideas and executing them makes me more vulnerable to MBE-P leadership behavior. My style is more reactive than proactive. I need to work on change management skills and diversity in order to predict uncertainties, risks and create strategies to ensure goals are achieved regardless. I also intend on working on my skill to reward followers who meet expectations and motivate them. 2.Who do you choose to mentor?Why?I choose to mentor my subordinates, especially new entrants into the force. The danger of having new recruits without mentorship is critical. From my own experience, when I first joined the force, I was very enthusiastic about serving the nation but I felt like I did not have guidance, therefore, my contribution was small and did not make a difference. I was poorly motivated and lacked the morale to build my skills. Once I got a mentor, this situation changed tremendously. I was able to consult him on what personal, academic, and professional moves to make so that my contribution would be more results oriented, and, to align my goals to those of the organization. I concentrated my mentorship efforts to new recruits and rookies to give them a sense of purpose and direction. 3.Diversity is multidimensional because it deals in the ways we interact with one another based on our similarities and our differences.What actions do you take to Foster an Inclusive Environment in your organization? Providing examples, describe your view of Striking the Right Balance. Explain why these actions and examples are effective or ineffective. 4.Barriers to diversity are anomalies in policies, procedures, and practices that limit opportunities based on characteristics, experiences, and abilities. Barriers can exist in leadership styles that if not dealt with will affect the organization.  A barrier analysis should not end with unit processes and practices; it is equally important for leaders to examine their leadership practices to identify areas to improve. Examining your leadership practices, identify your barriers. 5.Are you “stove-piped” into only thinking about your organization (versus surrounding organizations)?Do youinclude or do we exclude individuals knowingly or unknowingly? 6.Do we use or condone collusion in our units? 7.With whom do youdirectyour mentoring efforts, with all of your subordinates or just a few? 8.How do you build effective teams while translating leaders decisions into specific tasks and responsibilities your teams can understand and execute?Building effective teams is one of the most fundamental work tasks. A team has to be properly constituted to perform tasks effectively and efficiently. My core tactic in building an effective team is the achievement of balance. I take into consideration each person’s personality, abilities, and character and fit them in a team with people with similar values but different abilities, personality, and character. Careful consideration has to be made to ensure that these people can work together and synergize their efforts and that their competencies complement each other to enable them to achieve better results. Secondly, I prefer to consult with my team members, sometimes allowing them to form their own teams or choose come members they would like to work with. Consultation is an underestimated but important part of team building. Thirdly, team building exercises are a crucial part of team building. I ensure that members of each team are involved with activities outside the work tasks to help them learn how to work together and understand each other. Team building exercises also serve as media for expelling negative energy that can be the source of conflict and disagreements within the team. 9.Does your vision align withyourorganization’s?How do you support and explain your leaders decisions?How do you internalize this and then pass to your personnel? PART II: LEADERSHIP VISION Are you the leader you want to be?  Reflect on the type of leader you have been, both personally and professionally.  Capture the type of leader you want to be and what you want to accomplish (personally and professionally) over the next 3-5 years: My leadership style is relationship oriented. I am a charismatic leader who is interested in my people and their personal and professional concerns. The human component of leadership is particularly crucial to me. I view my role as a leader and as an advancer. My role as a leader is to communicate ideas and carry them forward. I enjoy getting my followers and team members excited about ideas and ready to execute new projects. I recognize new ideas in their early stages and develop new ways of promoting them. Coming up with successful strategies of pushing ideas towards implementation is particularly interesting to me. Although I am not a laissez faire leader, I do not let rules deter me from properly advocating for the implementation of an idea. I believe in innovation and I am open to new ideas and their implementation. In today’s world, effective leaders need to be all rounded in order to be comfortable in any situation and to manage diversity effectively. In the next three to five years, I would like to have cultivated my creative, and refinement skills. I am working towards being a flexor. Flexers are flexible and adaptable leaders that are comfortable and combine various skills. They can create ideas, recognize new ideas, and cultivate excitement for their implementations and push those ideas through the execution phase. The aim is to incorporate diversity into my leadership skills. I would like to connect and negotiate with all people, tolerate, and understand different members of the team and note their contributions. In addition, I hope to identify gaps in the process and come up with innovative ways of improving the process. PART III: STRENGTHS Based on Visionary Leader Module core concepts (Team Building, Diversity, FRLD, Change (Vision)), list at least two items that you do well and explain why each item is a strength:The visionary leadership concept requires that a good leader engage fully in the process of influencing others to achieve specific goals. I am a dominant influencer, and this is one of my greatest strengths. I am involved in all the four characteristics of visionary leadership including idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration. Instead of taking an approach where I have no emotional connection with my followers, a great deal of my time is spent on interacting with them and establishing strong connections with them. Leadership for me is more than just assigning tasks, monitoring progress, and rewarding the people who do a good job. I prefer to serve as a role model and mentor my followers by playing an active role in brainstorming and implementing ideas. This increases their performance and motivation levels and sustains a work environment that is positive and result oriented. Building effective teams is at the core of success in performing tasks. Knowing how and when to synergize efforts, and designing ways of translating leadership decisions into tasks that team members can understand and execute is vital. Team building is a trait that is taught at leadership training but there are various technicalities of team building that one has to learn on the job in order to maximize the efficiency of groups and teams at the workplace. For instance, understanding each employee’s abilities and personality is crucial to determine the constitution of teams and the tasks to assign each team with. Being an advancer, I am talented at managing the human interaction in any organization. I am able to understand people and know who to pair with whom in a team. One critical feature of effective teams is balance. In every team, you need the creative people to come up with ideas, the advancers to communicate the ideas, and the executers and finishers to carry the idea from its strategic to implementation phase and complete it. I know I have to learn how to better handle teams with highly emotionally volatile people together because this is essential to team building in my profession. Every team needs to be emotionally balanced, with reactive people working with cool headed people for the best results. PART IV: AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT Based on Visionary Leader Module core concepts (Team Building, Diversity, FRLD, Change (Vision)), list at least two items you need to improve upon and explain why each item needs work:Diversity as a leadership issue that entails the ability to accommodate a wide range of skills, knowledge, ideas, opinions, backgrounds, ages, races, beliefs, values, languages, ethnicities, genders, and other characteristics of various stakeholders. It not only allows one to cope with change but facilitate collaboration with one’s colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders whose input affects the business in one way or another. Working on my diversity skills is very important to me as it will enable me to create an environment of mutual respect and trust all personnel while promoting the development and mentorship of my juniors from various backgrounds and diverse life perspectives. Rather than judging, diversity will help me to foster an inclusive environment where personnel feel accommodated and appreciated. One of the areas I have assessed and determined as requiring improvement is change management. Today’s business environment is volatile and uncertain owing to the expansive societal changes. The technological, political, cultural, and other aspects of the external environment are ever evolving leading to the need for an organization to adapt to the new environment quickly and efficiently in order to survive. There are many pressures for change that affect organizations. As a result, dealing with change can be a long and tasking process. Therefore, a manager must employ both proactive and reactive strategies for dealing with change. As part of strategic management, every manager must take the proactive role of forecasting change in trends that affect the organization and set up measures to react to that change. Additionally, once the external change is effective, a manager must learn how to recognize such change and make internal changes to accommodate it. MODULE 5“Ethical Leader” REFLECTION Take a few moments to think about your experiences in the Ethical Leader module and how you will be better prepared to formulate, evaluate, monitor and enforce ethics policies and procedures.  As you complete the PLDP entry for this module, focus on how you will hold others accountable to the Profession of Arms while developing, supporting and inspiring others to hone their skills that further support and develop military attributes and capabilities. PART I: THE ETHICAL LEADER QUESTIONS (ChooseTHREE of the following to answer). *Remember 100 to350 words for each question you choose to answer. 1. How do you formulate, evaluate, monitor and enforce USAF ethics policies and procedures?Ethics is overly crucial in any given profession. In the Air Force, the starting point of making an ethical decision is by understanding what society considers moral, that is, the standard by which one is able to distinguish between right and wrong. A SNCO has to consider the military ethics, which concerns the rules and values that are appropriate when executing the duties of the military profession. Being aware of both personal and the military ethics aids the SNCO in aligning his behavior into these two ethical codes. Up to this point, the SNCO has formulated a code of conduct that needs to be applied in a real situation. When faced by a tricky situation, one needs to interpret before considering the factors that are relevant to the situation. In many cases, lack of experience in a given situation can cause dilemma and often there is an anticipation of harm from the consequences of the decision made. In such a case, a SNCO ought to consider the second and third order consequences before settling for a given decision. Additionally, the SNCO should put principle first, purpose second, and then people last to avoid the dilemma inherent in the competing values. The SNCO has to make an evaluation of the decision using Toner’s six tests. Toner suggests that the decision should not be to embarrass, discredit, nor humiliate the SNCO if scrutinized by the public. Moreover, it should be something that one takes pride in and wants everybody to know and approve of. In general, the result of the decision should be anticipated as positive. At this point, the SNCO is ready to implement the decision settled for after the consideration and to ensure that the decision is in work, a continuous monitoring process that need to be executed. As it is common practice, subordinates look up to the leaders and SNCO to promote an ethical environment by rewarding those who uphold ethics and punishing those who contravene the code of ethics. 2. How does ethical decision making relate to your critical thinking and why?Ethical decision-making is grounded on the ability of a SNCO to think critically. When interpreting the situation, one has to consider the personal and organizational ethics, something that involves critical thinking and in considering the factors that are relevant to the situation, not all situations are provided with clearly set policies and procedures. This means an ethical decision will merely rely on the SNCO’s capability to think critically in order to shine light for what is appropriate for the prevailing situation. Moreover, when considering the ethical traps, Toner suggests that a SNCO should discern, declare and do, that is, one needs to think critically and recognize what is true before making a declaration to himself. After the declaration, Toner suggests that a SNCO should do what has been declared as true through critical thinking that aids in making a perception about a prevailing situation. In making a moral decision, a SNCO needs to cut himself off from all those alternatives that he rejects and considers less feasible and before reaching this point of cut-off, one needs to engage his mind in a critical way. In addition, critical thinking is indispensable when applying the supporting principles as suggested by Toner. In creating and supporting an ethical environment, leaders ought to distinguish between actions that need disciplinary action and which ones need to be sanctioned and forgiven. A SNCO has to use his personal assessment of the situation when determining this, something that involves critical thinking. For instance, if the SNCO assess a mistake and finds out that it was caused by a misunderstanding, the subordinate should be sanctioned and forgiven. Besides, a SNCO is expected to uphold prudence over justice. This means that sound discretion is prevalent in leadership. A consideration of what is right should be made first before considering what is possible. A critical thinker will be able to understand that mere permissibility and legality of an action does not qualify it as the right thing to do. 3. In all of your military decisions, did ethics ever enter your decision making process? Explain. 4. Do you ever think about AFI36-2618 or the Core Values when you are faced with an issue? Why or why not? 5. Do you ever ponder the oath of enlistment? 6. From this module, what is a take away for you to build upon and why? From this module, what is a take away for you to build upon and why? The module on ethical leadership has been helpful. First, I understood that since decision-making is an inevitable experience in the purview of the Air Force, especially when serving as a SNCO, it is important to consider the ethical impact of the decisions I make. An ethical decision means that, as a leader, I am confident in the decisions I make when leading my subordinates. This is because, I would have considered all the ethical aspects of the decision, such as the impact it has on my reputation, the manner in which others will perceive it, the legal consequences and even the judgment my religious leaders will make when they come to learn of the decision. Practically, prior consideration of the consequences of a decision, from an ethical perspective, helps in gaining faith and taking pride in a given decision, just as it is expected in leadership. Secondly, I learned that it is critical for a leader to be the example since the subordinates are looking up to the leader for guidance. As a SNCO, my major responsibilities pertain to training, leading, and disciplining subordinates in the Air Force and failure to ensure that I behave ethically in any given time will mean that the subordinates will not respect my orders. This translates to total failure in my duties, something that can lead to disciplinary action, which is against my wishes and principles. Thirdly, the module instilled in me the notion that meeting the standards is not enough for effective leadership in the Air Force; rather, one should exceed them through critical thinking. Apparently, situations are diversified in nature, making it impractical to have set procedures for handling each one of them. Given this, the success in handling such situations depends merely on the ability of the SNCO to think critically beyond the set standards. Without doubt, leaders who exceed the standards command respect from the subordinates and even their supervising officers, which leads to effective execution of the leadership duties in the Air force. PART II: STRENGTHS Based on the Ethical Leader Module core concepts (Ethical Leadership, Critical Thinking and Emergent Leadership)list at least two areas you do well and explain why each area is a strength: I happen to be adept in the Wingman Culture, Suicide Awareness, and Prevention and Sexual Assault, Prevention and Response. Throughout my career, I have always had the tendency of having concern for my coworkers because I believe that if they are stressed in one way or the other, it will affect me too. This belief has been helpful in building the wingman culture since I happen to be inquisitive to my subordinates and peers who seem to be having a problem and through showing care and encouraging them; they understand that their stressors are not worth compromising their psyche and happiness. Besides, I do not tolerate any sexist jokes among my peers and any behavior that I feel is disrespectful, I make an effort to correct it. This attitude has helped me be more involved in sexual assault prevention and awareness. I also believe that suicides are not prevented in hospital emergency rooms; rather, it is prevented in our day-to-day interactions in the places of work by helping others appreciate the quality of life. This has led to my commitment in preventing suicide by taking a bold approach, which involves encouraging supportive behaviors and encouraging teamwork amongst the subordinates. PART III: AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT Based on the Ethical Leader Module core concepts (Ethical Leadership, Critical Thinking and Emergent Leadership) list at least two areas you need to improve upon and explain why each area needs work: However, I happen to be too skeptical as part of my critical thinking, something that the module has helped me figure out as inappropriate. In many situations that I have been involved in, I always take my time to find the facts of the situation and examine the good and bad side of it. Often, my objective is to find the truth of the matter. This has been time consuming when a decision needs consideration, and in some cases, I end up not committing myself to anything. Even though it is right to be skeptical, I have learnt that it should be practiced with some form of moderation. In addition, I need to improve on my assessment of situations based on prudence rather than putting justice first. To me, as long as something is permissible and hence legal, I consider it right. However, the module has put it clear to me that situations are not homogenous and hence, as a SNCO, I should think critically in order to determine what is right and wrong despite being permissible and legal. I believe an improvement in these two areas will ameliorate the execution of my leadership, training and discipline duties. MODULE 6“Influential Mediator” REFLECTION Take a few moments to think about your experiences in the Influential Mediator module, and how you are better prepared to formulate alternatives that can win acceptance of others.  As you complete the PLDP entry for this module, focus on how you selected the most appropriate outcome while simultaneously maintaining positive, long-term relationships and sustaining mission focus. PART I: INFLUENCIAL MEDIATOR QUESTIONS (answer ALL). *Remember 100 to350 words for each question. 1. When dealing with limited resources and mission changes, how do you seek alternatives and attain acceptable outcomes without damaging professional relationships?As a matter of fact, limited resources and mission changes require a shift of the negotiation strategy. Indeed, while seeking alternatives, it is crucial to define the essence of the problem or dispute. After the accomplishment of the given step, it is advisable to pay attention to the available resources. Thus, having an idea of the root cause of the problem and all the means that are limiting or facilitating a solution (power, people, time, money etc.) one may start developing a suitable strategy. In fact, the efficient strategy is usually characterized by a preservation of the professional relations and an achievement of the acceptable outcomes. One of the strategies I usually pick under a pressing circumstance appears to be “cooperating”. As it focuses both on “task orientation” and “people orientation”. In other words, it aims at the preservation of the professional relationships with the minimal losses. It also consists in seeking of the common interest by both the parties. This fact also contributes to the establishment of trustful and professional relations. Besides, being respected, the negotiators are likely to deliver the information which may be crucial during the option development. At this stage, to get the information needed, it is essential to avoid judgment. The application of critical thinking is also highly recommended in cases like this. On the whole, to be able to select among the offered alternatives one should find the root of the misunderstanding, evaluate the current conditions and apply the cooperation strategy. Besides, one should take into consideration the nature of the relations between the parties. If they are already trustful, the mission change will be much easier to settle. 2. Whether in garrison or deployed, how do you feel you are prepared to meet cultural challenges while maintaining focus on mission success?To begin with, culture has been often defined in terms of geography. Yet, it should also be taken into consideration that it is much more than a simple characteristic of nations. Being a pattern of human behavior, beliefs, standpoints and knowledge, the culture enhances a great many of groups that exist within the particular society. This diversity makes social challenges even more complicated to meet. It is expected that the participants of the mission who takes place in the socio cultural environment are of various cultural backgrounds. Thus, it is considered to be essential to acquire at least a basic knowledge of another partys culture. First of all, during the communication, a mediator should pay attention to the behavior of the representative of a different culture. Moreover, he should understand perfectly well what cultural peculiarities underlie a particular manner of conduct. In addition, it is advisable to adjust ones behavior to the customs and heritage that is a characteristic of the culture one deals with. Furthermore, a person who is supposed to be ready to face the cultural challenges should be motivated enough to get through the process of preparation. Apparently, I find myself motivated to cope with the difficulties a cross cultural environment may bring. On the other hand, according to the aforementioned information, the work in various cultural environments requires a concentration on many of the aspects. To be more precise, one should focus on the mission and all the relevant details. At the same time, the actions of the mediator should be adjusted to the cultural peculiarities. Without doubt, this ability to keep everything in control demands an outstanding expertise. Hence, it is unreasonable to claim that I am completely prepared to deal with cultural challenges. However, I feel motivated enough to accept them and to make an attempt to control the outcome of the mission while concentrating on the cultural differences. PART II: STRENGTHS Based on Influential Mediator Module core lessons (Cross Cultural Competence (3C) and Negotiation), list at least two items that you do well and explain why each item is a strength:The ability that I find myself good at is a “reality checking”. Apparently, this item is believed to be one of the most significant ones because it sheds a light on the partys understanding of the weak and strong points of their cases. In fact, this process is being carried out through a set of questions the mediator needs to ask. In this manner, it is obvious that a “reality checking” is deeply connected with the analytical thinking. In addition, a “reality checking” is necessary for the parties to apprehend their position and arguments, along with the basis and legal settlement of their demands. In addition, this item requires an ability to remain objective and neutral. Hence, as it is known, during the negotiation the person uninterested in an outcome is more than needed. Another item I am good at is “emotional control”. Obviously, one of the basic responsibilities of the mediator is to provide and maintain a safe atmosphere for the participants of negotiations. In order to perform the aforementioned task, it is essential for the mediator to remain calm, neutral and credible. Occasionally, during the heated discussions the participants tend to display their emotions. Without doubt, such manifestations can easily derail all the talks. Also, it is up to the mediator to decide whether to close the session or to make an attempt to calm the parties down. In any of these cases, the emotional control of the mediator is a pivotal issue, concerning the relations between the parties and the maintenance of the participants safety. PART III: AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT Based on Influential Mediator Module core lessons (3C and Negotiation), list at least two items you need to improve upon and explain why each item needs work:The item that is still to be cultivated is “fostering understanding of others views”. Apparently, the unwillingness of the participants to understand one another appears to be one of the most considerable barriers to the mutual understanding and the successful solution to the negotiation process. Thus, a mediator should act as a person who smooths the conflict. In order to put such an idea into practice, the skilled mediators use empathy. By this notion, one understands the ability to have a look at the problem from the standpoint of another person. Sure, the position of the mediator should remain neutral. Although, an ability to switch to another prospective gives a chance to obtain a deeper understanding of the problem. In other words, empathy enables a mediator to review the case and find an effective approach both to the parties and to the situation itself. As I’ve seen, the communication turns out to be a skill demanding a constant improvement. In fact, it appears to be a basic layer of the successful negotiations and mediation practice. Furthermore, it is necessary for the mediator to have a command of the diverse communicative styles. Such a demand is explained by the fact that negotiations often take place in cross-cultural environment. Thus, a mediator should be able to conduct the talks on the level which is familiar for the representatives of foreign cultures. On the other hand, communicative skills turn out to be of great use even in the usual cultural environment. As view the verbal and nonverbal communicative etiquette, it seems to contribute to the positive impression the individual makes. All in all, during mediation and negotiation, communication proves to be a basic skill of influence, thus it should be practiced to excellence. MODULE7“Strategic Planner” REFLECTION Take a few moments to think about your experiences in the Strategic Planner module and how you are better prepared to translate and prioritize strategy into progressive tactical application.  As you complete the PLDP entry for this module, focus on how you examined the Strategic Planner attributes, SA&D, Vision, Mission,Strategy Maps and Continuous Improvement. PART I: THE STRATEGIC PLANNER QUESTIONS (Choose THREE of the following to answer). *Remember 100 to350 words for each question you choose to answer. 1. How can you build feedback into a project? How long does it take you to know if you are off track? Why?Information obtained from other people is always important when it comes to project management. Therefore, it is necessary to consider such feedbacks when initiating a project. Both negative and positive feedbacks can be of great importance. Therefore, project managers must be able to adjust to altered and sudden or confusing situations by obtaining information and by showing honesty and support of various and innovative change concepts. To build a negative feedback into a project, it is important for project managers to first identify the main problem before deciding on how to make use of the problem to manage their project. Moreover, it is also necessary to clarify and validate the feedback by identifying what to do. Feedback determines the effective operations in a project. Errors can have serious outcomes for individuals affected by an emergency (Byrnes, 2005). After obtaining the feedback, the following steps are necessary when incorporating feedback into the project. The first is the initiation stage where the feedback idea is explored and elaborated. The main aim of this stage is to establish the feasibility of the feedback and the project as a whole. Planning comes next and it is necessary in organizing the time of the project, cost, and the required resources. For the project to succeed, there are four main steps involved. These include the identification of the goals, then using the goals to make a list of the project requirements. The third step is the creation of a list of duties performed. The last step is the use of back up programs like human resource plans, communication plan, and risk management plan. The third step after planning is executing which contains the procedures used to finish the work stated in the project management plan to achieve the necessities of the project. During the execution period, project managers will have to use an assortment of resources such as practical, monetary, and human resources. Monitoring and controlling comes after execution and it comprises of the processes followed to monitor project accomplishment to ensure recognition of problems within the right time. In this phase, the evaluation and correction of the on ongoing project activities is necessary. By cautiously monitoring and retaining the project plan, there will be a closure of the project at the end. It would only take 1 day to realize whether the project is off track or not. This is because it starts with the planning up-front. For instance, poor planning implies that the project is likely to fail. 2. Do you apply procedures or structures that affect people’s work positively or negatively? Why? 3. How do you react when people bring you problems or unwelcome news? Why??In a work environment, there are a number of issues that might arise hence it is common for workers to come up with problem or undesirable news. Therefore, it is necessary for a manager to consider how to handle such problems or news. Philosophy of adaptability is employed to amicably solve the problems in this context. Before establishing how to react when people come with problems or undesirable news it is necessary to understand the real meaning of adaptability. This is the capability of an individual to adjust to altered or unpredicted situations by looking for information and by showing honesty and support of varied and productive change concepts. There are three elements of adaptability to use in this situation. These include cognitive flexibility, emotional flexibility and dispositional flexibility. Through cognitive flexibility, an individual would be able to integrate various reasoning strategies and mental structures to make decisions concerning the problems or undesirable news presented. This implies that an individual should have numerous situations in mind to adjust to different, unpredicted, or ambiguous situations. Emotional flexibility is the capability of individuals to use a different approach to deal with their reactions and that of other people. An expressively flexible manager is contented with the process of change like inconsolable, irritable, and resistance linked with transition (Calarco and Gurvis, 2014). An individual with emotional flexibility can react appropriately when people come with problems, or undesirable news hence it will be easy to move the transition agenda forward. Those with emotional flexibility continually understand and control emotions, link and handle other people’s emotions, take part in emotional commitment and relate emotions with actions. However, emotional flexibility requires individuals to first show their own emotions. This implies accepting and presenting their emotional reactions in a realistic manner thereby assisting others apply similar principles. Leaders can also apply dispositional flexibility to react when people come with problems or undesirable news as discussed earlier. This would enable them to work from a place of confidence grounded in practicality and openness. They accept a worse situation while concurrently envisioning a better future. Therefore, it is necessary to figure out what is required to be optimistic in the present context Read More